The Real Significance of the Sabbath

St. Augustine was convinced that the real significance of the sabbath is this fact, that it provided a concrete sign of fulfillment toward which history yearns; because of the grace and decision of God, human history moves toward that fulfillment symbolized by the seventh day. He opened and concluded his Confessions with variations on this thought: “Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it repose in thee” (p. 3)- “O Lord God, give peace unto us …. the peace of rest, the peace of the Sabbath, which hath no evening.. . thou, Lord, ever workest, and art ever at rest” (p.…